Obviously, this is not a comprehensive guide to all the drinking games in the known universe. There are a number of excellent sites out there that cover far more games than we do here. These pages are simply meant as an introduction to the games we like to play and have proved to be entertaining and enduring over the years.

The games, as we play them, reflect a strong Sacramento and Chico-area bias with strong Davis, CA influences as well. A number of these games were originally adopted from the Complete Book of Beer Drinking Games and it's excellent sequel Beer Games II, both of which we strongly recommend if you are into gaming.

Make sure you see our Obligatory Comments on the games.

The underlying goal of Asshole is to get rid of your hand of cards. For the first round, all the cards are dealt evenly and play begins from the dealer's left. Each player must, in turn, beat the last cards played or pass and take a

This game tends to end up favoring certain players for a stretches at a time. It is easy for the lower-ranked players to get the short end of the stick in a major way, causing much acrimony. A good President, therefore, should be responsible for the welfare of the game and make sure drinks are meted out properly and any abusers of power are dealt with harshly. It's a hard ride back down, however, so one should be careful.

drink. The ace is high and multiple-card hands beat single-cards--two deuces beats an ace, three twos beats two kings, etc. A 10 card beats all card combinations. On a 10 or a four of a kind, the pile is cleared, or "wiped", and the player repeats his turn. The first player to go out is the "President", the next is "Vice President" and down to the last player who is always "Asshole."

After the hierarchy has been established, the players re-seat themselves starting with the President and descending clockwise. The usual order goes something as follows: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Governor, Mayor, Town Drunk, Barfly, Beer Wench, and Asshole. In smaller groups the middle titles are dropped and titles are generally made up on the spot for larger groups. It is important to address people by title so as to show proper respect for their position. The Beer Wench is responsible for making sure all players, including the Asshole, are kept stocked with beer. The Asshole is in charge of dealing and clearing the cards (hence the common "wipe Asshole").

Each player can make any player below them in rank drink, usually up to half a beer. The President can call socials and "suicide socials" wherein each player must continue drinking until the person above them in rank stops--woe is the Asshole in such situations. The President may, at their discretion make any rules they see fit. Since we live in a democracy, any ruled deemed unfair may be voted upon in the usual fashion. Game play continues on and the players exchange position at game's end.

Each player should be dealt four cards face up on the table with the remaining deck sitting face down in the middle. There should be about a 50/50 split of cards dealt and undealt, so adjust the number of cards and decks to fit your group. The dealer turns one card at a time face up from the central pile

This is a nice, simple game that is a good warm-up to a more brutal game like Asshole. Play should be kept moving briskly.

and each player with a matching card must perform the action of that particular turn.

The turns go in order as follows: give one, give two, give three, give four, take four, take three, take two, take one and then are repeated. On the gives, the player may give his drinks to one player of break them up over several players. In instances where a player has more than one card matching, the number of gives or takes is multiplied by the quantity of cards. Example: If a player has a pair of tens and the dealer turns over a third on a take four, the player must now take twelve! A round is over after all the cards are dealt out.